February 18th, 2010

In January, The Columbus Division of Police announced plans to restructure its precinct boundaries and the staffing of police officers within those boundaries.

The Plan calls for the Abolishment of Precinct #1, which provides police service to the Short North and many communities around the Short North. The current boundaries of 1 Pct. are Goodale Ave. to the South, Grant Ave to the East, King Ave. to the north and Grandview Ave to the west. The plan will move the 27 officers assigned to 1 pct. on 3 shifts to the Polaris area. The officers currently assigned to 16 pct. (Downtown) and 4 pct. (Campus) precincts will then have to cover the former 1 pct. area. There are NO plans to increase the number of officers working on those two precincts to cover the additional workload and increase in coverage area.

The Officers who currently work 1 pct. are very dedicated the Short North. Some of the officers have worked in The Short North on 1 pct. for more than 20 yrs. Their dedication to working with the community and business owners to make the Short North a vibrant and safe area should not be ignored.

The voice of residents, business owners, employees, patrons & visitors of Precinct 1 should not be ignored.